the kinders picked out a happy tune on our well-worn and much-loved piano.
it was a very cold day and we were kept inside. it sounded like kinder-ragtime.
“The fact that children can make beautiful music is less significant than the fact that music can make beautiful children.”
Cherly Lavender
my daughter and her aussie family, having decided to take on an easy pet, went the “cute little guinea pigs” route. my grandsons enjoyed playing with them, they were cuddly, and loved to run around in the yard, (grandkids and pigs, both). living in the southern hemisphere, and with a very warm climate, it was not unusual and worked out well for everyone.
until one day, when it got just too hot for them, and the little guys, (the pigs, not the grand babies), decided to make a run for it and head for a cooler location, under the house. they haven’t really seen them since, (the pigs not the babies). i suggested to my daughter that she send the littlest guy, (baby, not pig), under the house on a hunting expedition, with a headlamp and a net. he is the only one who would fit under there, has a huge love of hands-on adventure, and would probably find the mission quite exciting.
my daughter and i discussed the possibilities if they didn’t find them:
‘are they vegetarians?’
‘oh they won’t go hungry, they can eat as much grass as they like out there and always be full.’
‘but isn’t everything massive there, you have super races of every animal, who have adapted and are highly developed survivors?’
‘what if they run out of grass? what if they have to eat a bug or something to survive?’
‘yeh, once they have a taste for blood, they could go after bigger things. the neighbor’s cat, a kangaroo, and even us.’
‘we could come home one day and find them to be giants, roaming the yard, looking menacing, making eye-contact with us and hungry!’
‘yes.’
‘it would be like a bad b-movie, with us as the running, shrieking victims.’
‘could you possibly videotape it for me and i could make a fun family movie out of it?’
soon after, i noticed that she had put up an offer to local friends on Facebook – “looking for a good home for cute guinea pigs, our yard will just not accommodate them since we’ve moved.” following is a very real part of that exchange:
a: Are they child friendly??
h: Not really lap guineas, need more handling. I have a leash and everything but don’t think they are quite there yet.
j: be warned everyone !! they are the guinea pigs from hell !!! they would be perfect extras as pets for the dudes of Sons of Anarchy !!!
apparently, people have different perspectives about them, clearly divided between those who’ve met them, and those who haven’t. but really, leashes?!
You can’t create a monster, then whine when it stomps on a few buildings. Yeardley Smith (voice of lisa simpson)
image credits: freeamigurumipatterns, news.bbc.co.uk, theguardian.com
it was a morning spent with the kindergarten on an ice skating adventure. filled with tip-toeing on skates, scooting on boots, giving rides on cones, running on ice, holding hands, tumbling, crashing, laughing, noses running.
and all this, as our little hockey playing and figure skating kinders skate on by.
when it’s time to warm up with hot cocoa and donuts, they find themselves on equal ground, and they are all exhausted and so happy. and then, even our hockey players cry when it is time for moms and dads to leave, and for us to return to the cozy comfort of the circle rug in our classroom once more. and some of us feel newly discovered muscles in their legs the next day, that are apparently never used in this way, and take it real slow when going down the stairs.
I would say my sense of adventure outweighs my grace – Kathy Ireland
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image credits: freshcardsgifts.co.uk, partylistyles.com
finally all back together in school this week, and the kindergarten made the most out of enjoying what mother nature had left behind for us to play with. we headed out to go sledding on a ‘hill’ that could best be described as no more than a 23-degree angle, though to see their eyes upon approaching it, it appeared to be their first encounter with the swiss alps. even so, it was a challenge to get to the top, as the snow was quite deep and their legs were quite tiny. but motivated they are, and they hiked up to the summit, over and over, jumped on sleds, headed down, and marched back up.
all except for one little guy. he stayed on the sidelines, even when invited up, and instead rolled around and ran around and laid in and laughed and ate all the snow he could handle. when it was time to leave and stomp back in, he began crying and yelling out, ‘you didn’t let me go sledding!!!!!’ his outburst was met with great understanding by my class who simultaneously burst out laughing. it was at this point perhaps, that he realized he had made his own choices, and this was not a great argument. the sobbing stopped.
There’s no fear when you’re having fun – Will Thomas
when everyone made it back inside, they warmed up, had a snack, went to music class, made puzzles, read books, ate lunch and suited up for another trip outside, this time to the playground. once out there, they saw that their familiar playground had been turned into a winter wonderland. there was fresh, fluffy, deep, white, sparkling snow everywhere, totally untouched by any other kids!
they jumped in it, rolled in it, made snow balls and snowmen and snow castles, played with ice chunks, went down the slides covered with snow, filled buckets with snow, made snow angels, snapped icicles off of their playhouse, climbed things, tried to run in the snow, and loved every minute of it. after a long time spent playing on our ‘winter beach’ we headed back inside once again. after taking off all of our layers and hanging them to dry, everyone was absolutely exhausted. it was nap time. and we had earned it.
image credit: mnh.si.edu
When you’re really having fun, you’re always doing it a little bit in a way that you’re not supposed to.
That’s when great things happen.
image credit: metro.co.com
today, they are back. we are all to be reunited at school once more. we have survived the holiday vortex, the polar vortex.
i feel sure we will create our own vortex in no time. i smell adventure in the air.
Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty – Jacob Bronowski
during my first year of teaching, i discussed the concept of respect with my class of 3rd-5th graders. after, we each wrote something about what respect meant to us. this was written by an 8-year-old, and was my favorite:
i suppose i should have known it would read something like this, coming from my little guy who was a pragmatic vegan buddhist.
An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.
today, with no school and home once again, i’ll make a simmering pot of tomato basil soup in honor of my young writer. this one’s for you, r. i think you would respect it, i know i will.
Writing and cookery are just two different means of communication. – Maya Angelou
baby b – “ we’re going on “bacation” in our car, we’re going to the beach!”
baby j – “I’m a mermaid!”
baby b – “you can’t be a mermaid we’re in the car!”
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If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution – Emma Goldman
baby b performs a live version of ‘jingle bells’ on her new stand-up mike, only to encounter a lot of action/distraction in the audience and soon realizes that her agent has booked her into a ‘garden level’ holiday party room and she is playing to a tough crowd.
while singing, she is competing for attention with: a big screen tv airing a holiday film, baby j grabbing the mike and trying to eat it when she is stops to adjust her sound system (she is also her own roadie), cousin baby v, stepping in and clapping in the middle of her song, checking to see if she can have a go at the mike, a neighbor baby audience member tipping over and toddling by into the circus tent behind her, baby r jumping around near the couch on the lounge level, as her discounted obstructed view ticket has placed her behind a pole and a massive gift box, and most everyone else who has had a glass or two of a delicious holiday beverage. baby b however, takes it all in, is unfazed, and continues on with the show.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5NWLzPG0hfgR3k4S2J6a2RhSGs/edit
“Between you and every goal that you wish to achieve, there is a series of obstacles, and the bigger the goal, the bigger the obstacles. Your decision to be, have and do something out of the ordinary entails facing difficulties and challenges that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else.” Brian Tracy
There’s real drama in performing live. You never know how it’s going to be. – Kevin Costner
between the dinos, the lions, and the kinders, i didn’t stand a chance. and i had a ball.
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You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. – Plato
way back when i found myself a young, financially challenged, single mother and extra money was not an option, i looked for ways to bond with my 3 girls that involved only a minimal outlay of cash. one of those experiences was a weekly special event we affectionately named, ‘family made for tv tabloid movie night.’
for a couple of hours, once a week, we put together a pile of junk food and sat, all in the same room, eyes rapt with wonder, as we watched a myriad of horrible films, mostly featuring ‘stars’ on the cusp of their careers, as they careened through dramas, comedies and everything in between. with poorly written scripts, acting that was an insult to the profession, and cheesy, overblown sets – we embraced it all, and sat, transfixed and transported – laughing, crying, singing, just enjoying the thrill of it all, but most of all, it was the shared company that we all remember.
Life doesn’t imitate art, it imitates bad television. – Woody Allen
I didn't have my glasses on.... 